Iraqi leader thanks Trump for removing Iraq from travel ban list

By Steve Holland

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi thanked U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday for removing Iraq from a travel ban affecting several Muslim-majority countries and said he sought stronger cooperation in fighting Islamic State militants.

 

The two leaders sat down face to face at the White House for the first time since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Abadi is trying to defeat Islamic State militants who seized broad swaths of Iraqi territory.

 

After an appeal from Abadi, Trump decided this month's revised order temporarily banning the entry of travellers from several Muslim-majority nations would not include Iraq because of its cooperation with the United States. Both the initial Jan. 27 travel ban and the revised version have been blocked by federal courts.

 

Detractors argue the ban discriminated against Muslims in violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom. Trump says the measure is necessary for national security to protect the country from terrorist attacks.

 

“I thank you for removing Iraq from the presidential order ... this was a positive response to the Iraqi request that betters the relationship with Iraq and the value of Iraq as far as Iraqi-American relations," Abadi told Trump.

Trump told Abadi that he knew his forces were fighting hard against Islamic State.

 

"It's not an easy job," Trump said. "It's a very tough job. Your soldiers are fighting hard. I know Mosul is moving along. ... We will figure something out.

 

"Our main thrust is we have to get rid of ISIS. We're going to get rid of ISIS. It will happen. It's happening right now," Trump added, using an acronym for Islamic State.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-21

And promised that the proposed mega Trump Towers and Condo developments in Bagdad would be the first on the list to receive building consent once the IS were out of Iraq.

I just realized that Trump doesn't use any commas in his sentences, they are too short. Maybe he can't express complex concepts, and has to dumb them down?

I now wonder if he can fully grasp the meaning of a long, complicated statement that he is hearing. Must be something to do with processing power and short term memory.

Just to be on the safe side, I believe anyone interacting with the POTUS should use short sentences of 10 words or less, and use words with few syllables to help him stay focused. Example: Isis is bad. Money is good. Let's grab some ass.